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A major breakthrough in the form of a bionic eye has come courtesy of researchers at Ghent Univeristy who have created a contact lens shaped LCD display. .
Many research institutions are working on electronics that can be worn on the surface of the eye. While there is the possibility of having a private display overlaid on your vision, there are other applications as well. An electronic contact lens could monitor the eye for problems like cataracts, and a safety lens could block out unwanted radiation, acting as automatic sunglasses.
There are many problems to overcome, however: Among other things, power must be provided, the display must be itself extremely small and durable, and it must fit the shape of the eye.
But there are also many solutions. Power can safely be provided wirelessly. The miniaturization and encapsulation of the electronics is an ongoing process, , but now a monochrome display with hundreds of pixels that curves spherically, allows it to be worn on the eye.
By using new kinds of conductive polymers and integrating them into a smooth spherical cell, the new LCD-based contact lens display was produced. In its prototype stage,the display can't yet become totally transparent or totally opaque, but the work continues to perfect its display, and to ensure the safety of the device and consider its power source for the display ( possibly solar cell)
The work was a collaboration with Belgium's Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre.